Hundreds of Uber and Lyft drivers brought traffic on the FDR Drive to a halt Tuesday morning, in protest over what they say is unfair treatment.
The caravan of some 300 drivers began at Navy Street and Park Avenue in Brooklyn under the BQE at 7 a.m. and converged on the FDR towards Gracie Mansion, according to the Independent Driver’s Guild, which reps the drivers who work for the taxi apps.
The group protested Uber’s decision to begin abruptly denying app access to drivers at times and places where demand is low.
Lyft enacted a similar policy in July. The companies claim the app lock-outs are a necessary response to recently-instituted TLC rules which penalize ride-hail companies whose vehicles spend too much time cruising without passengers.
But city data shows the rules have succeeded in both decreasing congestion and increasing driver wages. The number of for-hire vehicle trips has continued to grow across the city.
“It has been Uber and Lyft’s business model to oversaturate the market while promising drivers that they could succeed despite these companies’ stacking the deck against them,” Acting TLC Chair Bill Heinzen said in a statement. “[The companies] are finally being forced to experiment with ways to run their businesses in an environment of accountability.”